


Time That Broke Us Apart

by kibuvitsaroos



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Gen, Karl Jacobs-centric, Memory Loss, Protective Karl Jacobs, Self-Sacrifice, Teleportation, Teleporter Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), The InBetween - Freeform, Time Loop, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Time Travelling Karl Jacobs, Villain Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:26:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29716449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kibuvitsaroos/pseuds/kibuvitsaroos
Summary: Sapnap smiled lazily and asked, "Have we met before?""No, I don't think so," Karl lied with a nervous chuckle.What happens when a self-sacrificing young man gets a hold of a device that could save his friends? Karl Jacobs is a time traveler who has only one objective: to end the loop where he constantly needs to watch his closest ones suffer. To what extent is Karl willing to go to keep his friends from their inevitable doom and how much of himself will he lose in the process?
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity & Karl Jacobs, Alexis | Quackity & Karl Jacobs & Ranboo & Sapnap, Alexis | Quackity & Karl Jacobs & Sapnap, Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Karl Jacobs & Ranboo, Karl Jacobs & Sapnap
Comments: 9
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

Like every other morning, Karl awoke with a start. When he opened his eyes, he was met with the familiar sight of the white ceiling and the unmoving fan with light. Everything was back to this and he was going to have to start over, again.

Groaning, he put his arm over his eyes and tried to remind himself of the past events before he would forget. It'd been all the same. He'd watched them die, used the pocket watch and the swirling lights of green and purple pulled him to this point in time. No, it wasn't a dream. This had all been real. The bookshelf on the other side of the room was the very proof of it, the higher rows containing various copies of the diaries he'd written, each and every one of them labeled with an entry number. The lower rows were filled with old comics and books of science fiction.

The sun was already up and Karl thought about the upcoming day. He knew the events of the first day as well as he knew that without having to look at the clock, it was quarter past seven. Sighing, he got up and, out of habit, looked at his writing desk. There were two items: an empty diary and a pocket watch.

He sat behind his desk and opened the new diary, an empty page staring back at him. He'd never been good when expressing himself, so he took a long moment to think his wording through before he began to write.

* * *

_Diary entry #28_

_I failed again._

_Everything ended the same way as always. Im aware that things keep getting worse every time I travel back. Each time not only do they grow further apart from each other, but also from me._

_I understand that it comes from the fact that I have been more focused on Ranboo, who is getting more and more corrupted, but I cant just leave him be because hes the one causing all of this. Then again, Im partly to blame as well._

_I have pushed Sapnap, Quackity and everyone else I hold dear away in hopes that they dont get involved, but they always do. They always find a way into my life and they make it so hard for me to stay away. With each time I get more used to the sight of their lifeless bodies, but it doesnt make it any less painful._

_This time Ive decided that Im not going to hide anything from them because they deserve to know. Ive been keeping them in the dark for too long and it just isnt fair to them._

_I dont care how many times I need to do this. Im not stopping until all of us get out alive._

_For them, a thousand times over._

* * *

Karl shut the book and hid it in the highest drawer of his desk. He'd written so much that he could no longer bother with either the grammar or punctuation, but at least his handwriting had gotten more even compared to his former print writing.

There was something that should be clarified right off the bat, although it might already be evident to the reader. Karl is a time traveler and this isn't his first morning on the day of his first day at new school. Truth be told, during the previous dozen travels, he'd skipped school entirely because there was nothing new for him to learn and it helped him not to get attached to everyone he cared for. He hadn't forgotten what the day was going to be like, but the anxiety was still there. One wrong step or word and he's screwed up all of his chances. He needed to be careful.

Knowing he would be late, Karl still decided to take a long shower to freshen his mind. Although it might've seemed irrelevant, the events of the previous timeline had happened to Karl only a few hours ago and he needed a moment to collect himself. He knew that Sapnap, Quackity and others were now alive, but the sight of their unmoving bodies would haunt him for the rest of his days.

Done with his shower, he looked out the window as he brushed his teeth. The sky was a mix of light blue and purple and the fluffs of clouds were bright white, bringing some color into the morning. Looking through his closet, the clothes were divided into two categories: dark and colorful. For the longest time, he's gone with the black turtlenecks and sweaters, but for the first time in a while, he felt like being more vibrant. He picked out the hoodie with complementary colors that usually gave him an eye strain if he stared at it for too long.

Picking up the pocket watch, he noticed that it'd gotten already so late that the first lesson was about to start in ten minutes. The old him would've rushed out the room at this instant, but now, he couldn't care less. He put the pocket watch in his satchel and headed downstairs. His mother was already worried that he would miss his breakfast and would be late on his first day, but Karl assured her that he would make it to school in time, although he knew himself that it was most definitely a lie.

The drive to school was short. Once he entered the school building, he was greeted by so many familiar faces. Karl was, in a way, glad to see them again, but the sad part was that they had no idea that they'd already met. All of those memories just, whoosh, wiped away and now the only place where they remained was in the diaries.

To his surprise, he arrived at the homeroom before the teacher could. There were a few who couldn't care about his presence, like Techno, who didn't look up from his ancient Chinese military treatise. Then there were many whose attention landed on him, like Wilbur, who had stopped strumming with his guitar that he always brought along, or Fundy, who had his computer open and stopped writing entirely.

Quackity, who had been laughing with Schlatt and Connor, looked genuinely lost by the entrance of the new kid. He looked around the class and whispered to other people in hopes of finding out what was going on. Seeing him forget about everything they'd been through still hurt, but not as much as initially.

On the other side of the class sat Sapnap, surrounded by the popular quarterback Dream and the upperclassman George. Sapnap had his headphones on, bobbing his head to the music and didn't take any part of the conversation that was going on between the two friends of his. He stopped when he noticed Karl standing and staring at him and took the headphones off to tell something to the other two, who turned to look as well.

Almost all eyes were on Karl, but he didn't stand there for long and made his way towards the back of the class, where Quackity and his gang was. Quackity watched in utter shock as Karl took a seat next to him and began looking for his stuff from his bag.

Quackity looked around at his friends, who were confused as well, before saying in an irritated tone, "Excuse me."

"What?" Karl asked, unbothered by the hint of threat in his friend's voice.

"I didn't give you permission to sit here."

"I don't need your permission," Karl answered indifferently and went back to readying himself for the lesson.

Schlatt laughed at that and nudged Karl, which made the latter feel uncomfortable. "I already like this guy. What's your name?"

"Karl Jacobs."

Schlatt hummed. "I'm Schlatt. This one's Connor and the ugly duckling over there is Quackity."

"What?!" Quackity shouted.

 _I know_ , Karl was tempted to answer, but instead nodded and said, "Nice to meet you."

"You too," Connor greeted.

"What did you just call me?" Quackity was still offended and looked at Schlatt with an accusatory glance.

"Was he wrong, though?" Karl added a little more oil to the fire and braced himself for Connor's and Schlatt's obnoxious laughter, which was way louder than he'd remembered.

Connor turned towards Schlatt. "Can we keep him?"

"What am I? Your dad? Of course we're keeping him."

"I don't mind," Karl said with a smile and looked away. He then noticed that Sapnap was staring at him from across the classroom. It was hard to make out what he was thinking. He was most likely displeased because Karl had decided to sit with Quackity. What made everything harder for Karl was that each time he had to start his relationships over with everyone and it was beginning to get extremely tedious. It didn't matter how close Sapnap and Quackity got by the end of everything because by the beginning of the next timeline they were back to despising each other.

"What's their problem?" Quackity began his speech that Karl already knew by heart. "Don't pay any attention to them, they're just trying to intimidate you. The one wearing that smiley face mask is Dream, the "glory" of this school. Then the plain idiot wearing blue is George and I'm even not sure why he hangs around here instead of his own classmates. And then there's Sapnap." Sapnap frowned, making Karl realize that Quackity's voice could be heard over the whole room. This guy really needs to learn how to whisper. "He's an asshole and a flirtatious jerk. I suggest that you keep your distance from him because—"

"He's a nimrod, got it," Karl interrupted him, knowing that else he wouldn't hear the end of it.

"You made the right choice by coming to us first because who knows what shit these pathological liars would've fed you if you'd gone over to them," Connor added. This irritated Karl because he knew their statements were baseless.

During the first and the original timeline, back when he was still oblivious to the events that were waiting ahead, he'd even believed them and thought badly of Sapnap. The only reason why he even began talking with him was because he wanted to be friends with everyone, good or not. He'd been more than glad to find out that both of the sides had been wrong.

"Have you ever tried getting to know them?" Karl asked, taking his eyes off from Sapnap to face Quackity who looked absolutely astounded.

"You're quite blunt for a new kid. When I first saw you, I thought you were going to be one of those shy types who keep to themselves."

"Never judge a book by its cover," Karl went with the classic idiom and stopped talking so the teacher, who was displeased by the chatter, could start.

Karl had been asked to briefly introduce himself, which he did, and the teacher continued with the usual monologues on topics like "don't hesitate to ask for help" or "make him feel welcomed". The homeroom passed in a blur and Karl spent the rest of the day mainly with Quackity and the others. Many students came to introduce themselves and Karl politely kept a smile on his face while conversing with them, but the person with who he really wanted to talk with kept their distance.

Throughout the whole school day Karl tried to find the right moment to go and talk to Sapnap, but he didn't stray from his group and due to Dream's popularity, they were always surrounded by others. Getting close was so complicated that Karl began to wonder how he'd managed to do so the first time around.

During the lunch break a couple of more people had joined their group. Karl kept quiet and ate, while Schlatt tried to find ways to irritate Minx while she was yelling right into his face and swearing like a sailor.

"Anyway, are any of you going to Dream's party?" Minx inquired, trying to calm herself from the recent fight. Schlatt said he was going and so did many others, but Quackity was yet indecisive of the matter.

Although Karl was already aware of the upcoming party, he found himself obligated to ask about it just to make it feel like he was new here.

"What party?"

Quackity then remembered that he hadn't explained it to Karl at all. "Oh, shit, right. I forgot to tell you. Dream is having a party at his house this weekend and being the popular stuck-up jerk that he is, obviously everyone is going."

"Then why are you even considering going in the first place? I thought you hated them," Karl said even though he knew what the response was going to be.

"Oh, I hate them, alright, but I don't think its a reason to miss the biggest rave of the year."

"So you're going then?" Connor asked. Quackity nodded and filled his mouth with food. "And you, Karl?"

Karl knew his answer before he'd been told about the party. He'd promised to be more outgoing and that's what he was going to do. "Yeah, I'm thinking about going as well."

"Great! Then we're all going together." Schlatt was satisfied.

Karl couldn't remember the last time he'd agreed on going. He knew what was already going to happen: everyone would scatter around, Karl would be left alone to stand in the corner with a drink in his hand and he would be forced to watch the others having the time of their lives.

Even while sitting across the cafeteria he could feel Sapnap's stare. He turned to look behind him and faced Sapnap, who soon after turned back to the conversation with his friends.

"What's his deal with you?" Quackity didn't understand, having noticed the staring as well. "Do you know each other or something?"

"I'm sure it's nothing," Karl brushed it off. Sapnap was only being cautious because Karl had chosen Quackity over him. It wasn't an easy decision to make between the two, but he'd learned that choosing one side made the other one harder to win over. Choosing both just wasn't an option. Going for Quackity first was easier because had he gone for Sapnap, Quackity would've taken it personally. Sapnap, however, showed signs of interest even when Karl befriended Quackity first, so the path chosen here was obvious.

Getting those two to be friends was getting more complicated each time. If only Karl could just talk to his old self and ask what he'd done differently. It was probably his awareness of the impacts of his actions that made him avoid the mistakes he'd made the first time around. Whatever the real reason was, Karl just couldn't figure it out no matter how many times he was brought back.

There was a soft tapping on his shoulder and he looked over his shoulder to see Bad standing behind him. Karl realized immediately what this was all about and cursed himself for forgetting. Since it was his "first" day, Bad had been assigned to give him a tour around the school and Karl hadn't showed up.

"You're Karl Jacobs, right?" Bad asked with a calm smile.

"Yeah, that's me."

"I'm Bad and I was supposed to give you a tour around the school, but you didn't show up."

Karl felt bad. "I'm so sorry, I ran a bit late and I forgot all about it. This is so horrible of me to leave you hanging there," he said apologetically.

"Oh, no, you don't need to be sorry. It's understandable and I'm glad that you're making friends already. If you have anything you need help with, don't hesitate to ask. I'm always more than glad to help."

"Is that all?" Quackity sounded annoyed.

"I wasn't talking to you." Bad was irritated yet composed. "Anyway, I hope you like it here. Have a great day!" He left with a relieved smile.

"You too!" Karl shouted after him. When Bad was gone, Karl turned to Quackity. "You didn't have to say that. He was just being considerate."

"I know. He's a nice person, I'll admit that much, but he's been friends with Dream for so many years, so I just can't help but to be like that," Quackity admitted indifferently, looking down on his tray. "Besides, seeing him get mad is kind of amusing."

"True," Karl couldn't help but to agree.

Soon they finished eating and when they stood from their table, Karl looked over to the Dream Team table. They'd already left.

"What are you standing there for?" Quackity woke him from his thoughts. "Come on, let's go. I don't want to be any more late than I already am."

 _No worries_ , Karl thought to himself, _I'll get many more chances to talk to him._

* * *

The whole week had passed and Karl still hadn't found a chance to talk with Sapnap. Sure he'd sent friend requests and followed him on all social media platforms and even sent him private messages, but Sapnap had left him on read, which was kind of rude of him. Karl didn't remember striking up a conversation with him being that hard. He had already done something wrong? If he had, he had no clue what it could've possibly been.

He was sitting behind his writing desk in his room and had the twenty-eighth diary open before him. The whole page was full of ranting about why Sapnap wouldn't talk to him. But Karl wasn't worried, because he would open up at some point.

A ding came from his phone and he looked at the message sent from Quackity, asking whether he was ready or not. Karl finished writing the last line and put away the diary, answering Quackity that he was already on his way out. He already knew that Sapnap, being Dream's best friend, was going to be at the party. He'll get plenty of chances to talk to him.

The ride there wasn't long and it wasn't hard to figure out which house was Dream's, not because Karl already knew, but because of the lights show and loud music. Once he stepped out of the car, he could feel the beat of the music pounding in his body. There were flashing lights of every color and the house was so packed that even the people outside barely had any room to move. It wasn't unexpected that almost half of the high school had shown up. He was the popular quarterback of the high school's football team, after all.

The group had agreed on sticking together, but that lasted only for half an hour when Schlatt and Minx went off to get drinks and never returned and one by one the others began to disappear in the mass as well. In the end, it was just Karl and Quackity, mainly talking over the music and simply watching whatever the drunk people were up to.

Karl found Sapnap almost immediately, sitting alone on a couch and typing on his phone. For a split second Karl thought about walking up to him with Quackity in hopes that maybe they'd find common ground. That dream was crushed the moment Quackity saw Sapnap as well and told Karl to ignore him.

"Alright, everyone, listen up!" Everyone's heads turned towards Skeppy, who was absolutely smashed. "Me and a few others just set up a game of beer pong in the game room in the basement, so everyone's invited to come downstairs and get wrecked. And there's also a billiard table and holy shit you guys won't believe what kind of a gaming setup Dream has."

Just like everyone else, Karl and Quackity headed there and watched as Skeppy forced Bad to play it. The poor fellow tried to back out, but the rest of the crowd was already cheering on him to go at least one round.

"Holy shit, Bad's actually going to play?" Quackity's eyes widened. "I didn't take him for a drinker."

Karl wanted to tell his friend so badly about Bad, but right now, it wasn't his place to say anything he wasn't supposed to know. Right now, Karl "barely knew" Bad.

"Who's going to play against our little bad boy?" Skeppy dared for a challenger to appear. Bad looked around nervously, hoping that no one would and the game would be off. Unfortunately for him, Quackity volunteered and entered the ring of onlookers with a smug face.

 _Oh no_ , Karl could only think. This wasn't going to end well for his friend.

"Be ready because you're going to get destroyed" Quackity stated confidently, standing on the other side of the ping pong table.

Bad didn't look happy at all. In fact, he looked furious. "No, you should be the one to brace yourself, you little muffin," Bad challenged back, receiving many gasps and cheers.

"What?" Quackity just stood there in utter astonishment, not at all having expected such response.

"Did I stutter?"

"Let's go! That's my man!" Skeppy shouted.

The cheers got louder and Bad realized a moment too late what'd just been said and his reaction came after a long delay. "Wait, what did you just say?!"

"Alright, guys, is everyone ready?" Skeppy ignored Bad and both of the sides affirmed. "Good. Bad will go first."

"Why him?" Quackity didn't understand.

"Because Skeppy said so," Bad said with a smile and made the first throw.

It landed in.

Everyone was applauding Bad as he smiled to Quackity, who looked like a mix of irritation, confusion and worry. Quackity drank the whole cup and threw the ping pong ball, but missed. This wasn't anything new to Karl. He'd already seen how this game played out, although a long time ago. It wasn't surprising when Quackity got owned by Bad and demanded for a rematch, which Bad, who was visibly in a really good mood because of the alcohol, was more than willing to give.

While everyone else went along with the game, Karl couldn't find himself enjoying it. It wasn't really fun to watch his friend get drunk. He could use this time more wisely.

That's when it hit him.

He could go and find Sapnap. That's why he'd come here in the first place. Quackity was busy with something else, so he should go and use this chance while he could.

Looking around, the person who he was looking for wasn't anywhere in the game room. Going up a floor, Karl pushed through the crowd and searched for the man with dark hair. He was nowhere to be seen. When Karl went to the couch where he'd been before, he only found Dream, surrounded by many guests.

Karl turned around to go and check outside, but before he could, a hand grabbed his and pulled him to a halt. Turning around, Sapnap stood there with an unreadable expression. There were so many things Karl wanted to say, but something about his friend's gaze stopped him. He was just staring as if he was trying to figure something out, searching for an answer.

Then, Sapnap smiled lazily and asked, "Have we met before?"


	2. Chapter 2

Karl was frozen in place, his gaze stuck on Sapnap who was still holding him firmly, unmoving and waiting for a response.

_Have we met before?_

It was a question he'd never been asked before. The words were reverberating in Karl's head. He'd wanted the words to be something else, but they'd been too clear.

So many thoughts and questions were going through his mind; it was all a big mess. Did Sapnap remember something? Was he onto him already? Had it been a mere guess or perhaps just another one of his flirty jokes that he'd made out of his tipsiness?

Karl opened his mouth, but nothing came out. His breath was stuck. Why was answering him so hard? He'd never had any problem talking to Sapnap before. Karl was thinking hard about how to answer. Maybe it was best to tell him everything right off the bat. No, rushing wasn't the wisest idea. Right now, to Sapnap, he was a total stranger.

"No, I don't think so," Karl lied with a nervous chuckle.

Sapnap was thinking, until he blinked and agreed, "You're right." Karl sighed internally. "Else I would've remembered someone cute like you." And there was the flirty side of him.

"You think I'm cute?" Karl went along with the joke.

"I don't see a reason to say otherwise."

Karl couldn't find this conversation anything but strange. This isn't at all how each and every one of their first conversations had gone. Something was off. Sapnap was more straightforward than he usually was during their first meetings. Then again, their first conversations had never happened during the party. Karl wasn't sure what to think of it. This wasn't at all how this party was supposed to go. Had he accidentally caused a butterfly effect somewhere? He must have.

Karl realized that he'd once again fallen into his thoughts when Sapnap said, "By the way, I'm Sapnap."

"I know," Karl said, realizing a moment later how creepy that must've sounded, so he added quickly, "Quackity told me."

"Of course he did," Sapnap sounded irritated and they both looked towards the door to the game room where Quackity's yells of victory could be heard. "You have been getting along really well with him. Are you two old friends or something like that?"

 _Yes_ , Karl wanted to say but knew that from Quackity's perspective it was a lie, so he said the answer he always hated to say, "No, we aren't."

Sapnap hummed. He looked around for a moment before suggesting, "What do you say we get out of here? It's impossible to breathe and everyone keeps nudging me."

"Sure, sounds good," Karl agreed and followed Sapnap out. He hadn't realized how stuffy it'd been until he felt the wave of cool fresh air hit him. They went to a patio further away that, fortunately to them, no one else hadn't occupied yet. There was a big sofa that they could have all to themselves. Sapnap took two cans of beer out of the small freezer and handed one to Karl. They sat in silence, listening to the muffled beats coming from the house.

"How come you're not with Dream or George? You're always together." It was something that had been bothering Karl, since usually those three stuck together during the party, at least that's what they'd done in the previous timelines.

"That was the plan, but Dream is too busy entertaining the guests and George hasn't shown up, leaving me by myself. The idiot might be somewhere around here and I just haven't happened to see him, but it's weird that he hasn't been answering the phone."

"That sucks."

"It does. I should probably try reaching him again." Sapnap took his phone out and dialed George, setting it on speaker. It kept on beeping and it didn't seem like he was going to pick up. "Come on, George, pick up," Sapnap was impatient, having no clue how many calls he'd already attempted to make. Then, the call finally went through.

" _What?_ " asked George's sleepy voice.

"George!" Karl cheered.

"Finally!" Sapnap yelled in exasperation. "Where are you?"

" _I'm in bed._ "

Karl already knew what was up and Sapnap seemed to know as well. They should've seen it coming.

" _Who else is there? I could've sworn that sounded nothing like Dream._ "

"It's me! Karl!" he shouted familiarly although he was aware that George had no idea who he was. "I'm with Sapnap because you bailed on him."

" _Wait..._ " There was a pause on the other side of the line. " _Karl the new kid?_ "

"Yes!"

" _Since when do you hang out?_ "

"I can't believe you. You were supposed to come here!" Sapnap was angry.

" _Where?_ "

"What do you mean where? To Dream's party!"

" _It's late and I'm tired,_ " George whined.

"George, I won't take a no as an answer, so get your ass to Dream's place and we're going to have the best night of our lives because this week's been absolute shit!"

There was a long silence on the other side of the line, until George said, " _Good night._ " and hung up. Sapnap dropped his hand with the phone on his lap and cursed.

"That was so rude of him," Karl pointed out.

"It was, but," Sapnap paused and for the first time in a long while, Karl wasn't able to predict whatever he was going to say next because this was entirely new event and for the first time he wasn't living through the old memories in constant loops, "you seem like nice company, so I won't complain."

That made Karl smile. "Thanks, you're not bad either."

"I'll admit that I thought of you as an idiot, but I guess it was a prejudice I made because you stuck around Quackity."

Karl twiddled with his thumbs and said, "He's not that bad, you know. I'm sure you'd get along if you'd just try."

"Are you kidding me?" Sapnap raised his voice and Karl felt immediate regret. "Me being friends with him? You really are an oddball for believing that." He took another sip of his beer and Karl looked away, a little embarrassed of himself.

Further away someone had made a fire in the barbeque grill just for the campfire effect and Karl could make out that Wilbur, Fundy, Tubbo and Niki were sitting on the ground around it. He wasn't sure what to think of Tubbo being there, surrounded by alcohol and talking like it was normal. A guitar was lying around, the one that Wilbur always had on him. Tubbo counted down and Karl realized why until Wilbur and Fundy began gulping down their bottles. They were having a drinking competition of sorts and were in pain as Niki and Tubbo told them to stop and the drinkers soon both gave up.

"Wait, is that vodka?" Sapnap almost shouted, staring in utter astonishment.

"Yeah," Karl affirmed, having heard about the drinking story before, but it was his first time witnessing the event with his own eyes.

"Let's just hope that either of them doesn't get alcohol poisoning. Where did they even get those bottles? Don't tell me they brought them." Sapnap facepalmed and leaned back on the sofa, looking at the can of beer in his hand. "I suddenly don't feel like drinking. I feel sick just thinking about it."

"Then don't drink. It's not good for you anyway," Karl suggested and put his own can down, just having finished it.

"I suppose you're right," Sapnap agreed and set his drink down as well.

"The fuck are you doing out here?" berated Quackity's voice. Karl hadn't seen him approaching and his presence startled him.

"Don't scare me like that," Karl put a hand on his chest, his heartbeat faster than usual.

"Don't avoid my question. I want to know why you left. And why are you with _him_?" He pointed at Sapnap like he was to blame. "Since when are you big buddies?"

"What?" Sapnap stood, walking up to Quackity. "Is he not allowed to talk to anyone else besides you?"

Karl reacted fast and got up as well, running up to them. "Guys, there's no need to fight," Karl stepped between them, but they didn't seem to notice, too much focused on their rivalry.

"I'm just trying to keep him away from the idiots," Quackity slurred back.

How many rounds of beer pong had he had? He was barely standing, swinging from side to side.

"Here, let me help you." Karl put Quackity's arm over his shoulders and made him sit down on the sofa. Not once did Quackity and Sapnap break their staring.

Karl asked Sapnap to bring a bottle of water, which Sapnap did, although not for doing Quackity a favor.

"How much did you drink?" Karl asked.

It took long for Quackity to register the words. "Bad kept winning. He's a master of this game and I'm scared to find out how much of this he has played before." He took a sip of water in between. "That guy's fucking metal, not gonna lie."

"That's true," a new voice joined in. It was Tubbo. "Bad's hardcore. He also does competitive shooting and throws knives."

Quackity's face went pale, overtaken by shock and terror. "He does?"

"Yeah, he told me himself," Tubbo said proudly. There was a long silence until he decided to continue. "I actually came because Wilbur and Fundy aren't feeling well."

Sapnap sat down. "Yeah, we saw. The fuck were they thinking?"

"Wilbur had a bottle of straight vodka and Fundy had undiluted Yeni Raki. They thought it would be funny, but now they regret it. I saw that you have water, so I was hoping to get some as well."

"There's more in the fridge," Sapnap indicated to the mini-fridge and Tubbo took two bottles of water, thanking them and running off.

After he'd left, Quackity asked, "Isn't he underage?"

"As long as he doesn't drink, I suppose it's fine to let him stay," Sapnap answered. "And it's probably better to just leave him be. The poor fellow has it hard enough."

"What do you mean by that?" Quackity didn't understand.

"You haven't heard? He nearly drowned his friend. It was an accident, but still, I can't imagine what it must feel like."

"Was it Tommy?" Quackity said in a way like he was hoping it to be true.

Sapnap shook his head. "If only. It was someone else. Can't remember the name. What was it?" He fell deep in thought, but couldn't figure it out. Karl knew, but he wouldn't say anything because he knew he shouldn't.

It was just the three of them chilling on the patio. Karl was aware that the other two were still not simpatico, but soon the time would come when all of them would get along. And that's all that mattered.

He put his hands in the pocket of his hoodie, where his pocket watch was. He'd always felt the urge to tell them everything and to get it off his shoulders, but then again, he didn't want to burden them with his complicated life. He could tell them now that they were secluded from others. But was it the right thing to do? Would it be too soon? Both of them were drunk and trying to explain to them that time travel is real might freak them out.

There was no way that he'd demonstrate it here when there was a probability of someone seeing them. You could never know who's lurking in the shadows. If the wrong person would find out, then this could end very badly.

"Earth to Karl," Quackity groaned, falling to lean on Karl and resting his head on his shoulder. "What're you thinking about."

Telling them the truth now might not be the best course of action, but at least he could leave them with some hints.

"Time travel." Both Quackity and Sapnap were quiet. "Do you guys believe in time travel?"

They exchanged looks.

"I don't believe in it," Quackity said truthfully.

Sapnap admitted as well, "I'm with Quackity on this one, although I do find the concept of it interesting."

Karl didn't like those answers, but he couldn't blame them. "Well, I know it's real."

"You sound very convinced," Sapnap pointed out.

 _Because the proof is literally in the pocket of my hoodie_ , Karl wanted to just spill the truth, but said instead, "I know it seems dumb, but I know it's real. It's hard to explain it."

Sapnap hummed. "Do you want to have the ability to time travel?"

"For a long time, I did." Karl played with the pocket watch in the pocket. "Now I'm convinced that messing with the laws of the universe causes more harm than good."

"What made you think that?"

Karl wasn't sure how to answer, so he asked instead, "If you ever had the power to travel through time, then when and where would you go?"

"I know!" Quackity shouted confidently. "I would go back and beat Bad in that game of beer pong."

"I would like to see you try," Sapnap mocked, picking up his beer can and gulping down the rest of what had been left.

Quackity ignored him that and whined instead, "Karl, my man, promise me that you'll never drink. And don't ever play a game of beer pong with Bad. Being drunk feels absolutely shit. Say that you won't ever drink."

"I won't," Karl assured.

"Never!" Quackity shouted and then leaned forward, holding on to his stomach. "I feel like shit."

"For heavens, don't throw up here," Sapnap said, disgusted.

Quackity smiled, dozing off. "For you, I just might."

They stayed on the patio for the rest of the night. Quackity was fast asleep when Karl still kept talking with Sapnap. These were old conversations, the ones he'd gone through countless times, but he didn't mind. As long as it were these two, he wouldn't mind listening to them talking even when it felt like he was listening to a broken cassette player.

Karl hadn't realized when he'd fallen asleep, but when he woke up on the sofa, Quackity was agonizing because of the hangover and Sapnap was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Next Monday, Karl arrived at school earlier than usual. It was a bit strange to walk around the hallway alone, his steps echoing over the corridors. He wasn't sure himself why he'd arrived earlier than necessary because the school didn't start for another hour.

He could just make a time jump and avoid doing nothing for an hour, but that would leave him dizzy. Having the ability to travel through time might sound something amazing to have at first, but nothing comes without a price. Most of the time, it would leave Karl nauseous. So, his only choice was to find something to do. It was hard to find a way to keep himself busy because he'd played through most of the video games and there were no new releases due to the constant loop. He had started reading more books, but then again, it wasn't something he did for fun. This stagnated world had nothing to offer him.

"Karl!"

Out of nowhere, Sapnap had sneaked up on him and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him a little.

"Hey!" Karl couldn't help but smile. "Didn't expect to see you around so early."

Sapnap nodded. "Yeah, I probably would've slept in if Dream hadn't called and asked me to pick him up because his car just wouldn't start. I don't understand how he can stand having football practice this early. Like he has another practice in the evening."

"Well, I think it's good that you arrived early."

Sapnap smiled at that. "Anyway, how do you like the new school so far?"

"It's nice, won't complain."

"That's good. What made you change school now? The school year is practically over," Sapnap couldn't help but to ask.

It was still a feeling that Karl couldn't get used to, the feeling that by calendar he'd moved last week, but mentally, months, even years, had passed. Making quick calculations in his head, he got around six or seven years, considering that one timeline lasted three months.

"Dad got a better job offer and now here I am," Karl explained simply because there wasn't really much to it.

They entered the class and were the second ones to arrive, the first one being Quackity. Karl already felt the tension grow between the two.

"I don't understand how you can stand to be around that guy," Quackity said, not at all ashamed of it when Karl walked up to his desk.

"I can hear you, you know," Sapnap informed him from the other side of the classroom.

"Any askers?" Quackity looked around pretending to ask the imaginary students just to prove his point that no one cared.

"I don't understand if you're trying to be funny or not because if you are, then this really is a sad sight," Sapnap said, setting down his backpack.

"You need to fix your attitude, you dumb motherfucker." Quackity bickered.

"Did I stutter, stupid bitch?" Sapnap snapped back, walking up to their table and hovering over Quackity.

"Guys," Karl groaned as he pulled the two apart. "Don't fight."

The conversation turned heated quick. If they kept going like this, Karl knew that this would end with fists.

"I just had a great idea. Let's have a therapy session!" Karl clapped his hand together and began to rearrange the desks and the chairs.

"A what?" Quackity looked at him with disbelief.

"Are you deaf?" Sapnap scoffed and before Quackity could say anything back, Karl already pulled him towards one of the chairs and made him sit down. He did the same with Sapnap. Karl took the chair opposite to them.

He'd done this a few times and he still wasn't sure whether it worked or not, it was still fun to do.

"Now, let's start with the session. I believe that we might even make a breakthrough if we work together," Karl started.

"This is stupid," Sapnap muttered.

"Did you just call Karl's idea stupid? He's the smartest guy in the entire school!" Quackity was already furious.

"I didn't call him stupid, I said this therapy thing is stupid!"

"Well, it sounded like you were insulting him, Snapmap!"

"Don't you fucking call me that!" Sapnap growled.

"What? Snapmap?" Quackity smirked.

And they were already fighting. Karl was just sitting there and watching them lash out at each other. He didn't bother to stop them because he knew that they wouldn't hear.

It took a minute until they were out of insults and Karl could continue, "Good, we're already off to a great start. Let's try talking one at a time. Quackity, you go first."

"Oh god," Sapnap sighed before Quackity started.

"Do you know the feeling when it's a sunny day outside, the birds are singing and you want to have a walk or a jog around the park just to relax a little? And then there's this rock that somehow gets in your shoe and whenever you get it out, a new one always gets in and although it's just a one fucking little pebble, it feels like a giant ass boulder. You know that feeling?"

"Yeah."

"That's Sapnap."

Karl let out a disappointed breath and turned to Sapnap. "Alright, your turn."

"Basically the same thing. You're trying to sleep on a hot summer night and then there's this mosquito that just decides to be an annoying bitch and it won't leave you alone no matter how many times you kill it."

Quackity hit him in the shoulder and Sapnap kicked him back, nearly breaking into a fight.

"Alright," Karl interrupted, "let's try something else. Face each other." Groaning, they did. "Now, Sapnap, tell Quackity something that you like about him."

"There's nothing," Sapnap didn't hesitate, the answer coming out immediately.

"Come on, there has to be something," Karl insisted.

"Nope."

This wasn't at all going the way Karl had thought it would. "And what about you?" he asked Quackity.

"Sometimes when I look at you, I feel better about myself."

"Because I'm so awesome?" Sapnap smirked.

"No, because you're an idiot."

The door opened and they had to end their conversation as other students entered the class. Sapnap went back to his seat and soon Dream arrived as well to whom Sapnap was telling the whole counseling thing. They were closest friends, after all.

Schlatt was one of the last to arrive, but he entered with a smirk plastered on his face. Karl already knew what this all was about and he held on to the pocket watch in the pocket of his hoodie, ready to use it.

"Hey guys!" Schlatt said as a greeting and sat down.

"What's up with the shit-eating grin? You're freaking me out," Minx hissed venomously.

"You won't believe what I got," Schlatt continued, unaware that soon he'll lose the very thing he wants to show off.

"What do you have?" Connor was curious.

Schlatt leaned in closer, "I'm not gonna show it here. You'll see after the lessons are over."

Karl seriously considered skipping the lessons and just showing up to tests because there was nothing new for him to learn and it just felt like he was rewatching an old episode of a TV show. Nothing had changed regarding the lessons and wasn't going to as well. Truancy wasn't at all a problem—he'd been absent from school many times before—, but there was just something that he hadn't realized before.

During the lessons was when most of the bonding with other people happened. Quackity, being his deskmate, also wasn't the most motivated student so they'd often end up just fooling around and talking, although it wasn't to the teachers' liking. But the teachers couldn't stay mad for long because they'd soon realized that Karl was a natural at any given topic. Math, English, history, science, physics or any other subject that anyone could possibly come up with, Karl was good at all of them.

Of course, he did make some mistakes here and there, but those were mostly out of carelessness and not properly paying attention. It didn't take long until the whole school knew about the genius boy who aced almost all of his tests despite not at all thinking along during the lessons. The teachers practically begged him to represent their school in various competitions and tournaments, but Karl refused to go because he couldn't see how these would benefit him.

Not only the teachers wanted him to go to the olympics, but many students as well wanted him to join various clubs and extracurricular activities. Karl refused from all of these offers, mainly due to being part of them before, long time ago, but he'd never enjoyed it and had taken it more as an obligation. If there was no reason for him to overwork himself, then he wasn't going to.

Karl was awoken from his thoughts when the history teacher called out Quackity, who'd been on his phone. He looked at Karl with a confused look and Karl shrugged his shoulders, not knowing as well what the teacher had just asked.

"Yes?" Quackity said in a way that it could be taken both as a question or an uncertain answer.

"You're part of the speech and debate club so it should only be natural for you to be good with words. Perhaps you could give us a demonstration." All eyes were on Quackity.

"Of what?" Quackity didn't understand.

"A sonnet. Let's pretend that you're a knight from around the 13th or 14th century. Every knight must read a sonnet to the lady of their hearts."

Quackity looked around the classroom and then at the teacher. "Does it have to be a lady?"

The rest of the class started laughing as the teacher looked dumbfounded. "I suppose in this time and age, it doesn't."

In the end, Quackity tried to make a sonnet on the go, but it didn't turn out well, but it was still fun to watch him struggle.

"So, you never told me you were part of the speech and debate club," Karl nudged him, using it merely as a conversation starter.

"Let's not talk about that," Quackity shrugged it off, but Karl wouldn't leave that be.

"No, let's talk. I'm curious." Karl nudged himself closer and propped his head with his hand. "I want to see what debating looks like in action."

"It's just two sides arguing with each other, but using more complicated vocabulary and being more formal about it. Basically saying insults in the nicest way possible."

"I don't think that insulting has anything to do with debating," Karl said truthfully.

"That's not important." Quackity waved with his hand. "You said you wanted to see how real debating looks like?"

"I mean, yeah?"

"Then it's your lucky day because we're meeting up today. You can tag along if you want."

The lessons passed by fast and as soon as the school day was over, everyone followed Schlatt out to the back of the school, where no one would pass by for no reason.

"So," Connor had his arms crossed, "what's the thing?"

As soon as Schlatt put his bag down, Karl pressed the button on the pocket watch and watched everything go still and monochrome. He was aware that the time had stopped for everyone else and he was the only one with the ability to move around, but it was still nerve-racking. With all of the colors gone and the light slowly fading away, he opened Schlatt's backpack and took out a Glock. He hid it in his satchel and resumed the time.

Schlatt's smile got even wider as he opened his bag. "Get ready," he announced as he searched for his gun, turning more frantic with each passing second. "Where is it?" he asked no one in particular.

"What are you looking for?" Quackity walked up to him, trying to peek inside the bag.

Schlatt emptied the whole bag and the gun wasn't there. "Oh shit. This is not good. This is not good at all!"

"What's wrong? Did you lose something?" Karl asked innocently.

"Yeah, my Glock!" Schlatt spat out and everyone looked confused.

"Your clock?" Connor asked. "What's so interesting about some clock?"

Although it took her a moment, Minx seemed to understand what Schlatt was talking about and asked with some sharpness in her tone. "Wait, you brought a fucking gun to school?"

"There's no way it's gone." Schlatt's focus was still inside his bag. "I made sure that it was in the bag when I left. I kept it close to me the whole day, there's no way it just disappeared. No one can't have stolen it either. It just doesn't make sense."

"That's your karma for bringing a damned weapon to school," Minx said and turned to leave.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" Schlatt yelled after her.

Minx said as she kept going, not looking back, "I'm not going to get involved; that shit's on you!"

Schlatt leaned against the wall and cursed. "If somebody finds that thing before I do, then I'm screwed."

"Then you better start searching," Connor suggested.

"Aren't you guys going to help me?"

Quackity already began backing away, pulling Karl along. "Yeah, no. We have somewhere else to be."

The two of them left without saying anything else and Quackity took Karl to the club meeting. This had come as a surprise to Karl because he'd insisted on coming as a listener before, but Quackity had always turned him down just because Techno didn't like having any more people around than already necessary. Of course, he was still mad at Quackity when Karl had come but decided to let it slip.

"We already have enough people coming here today," Techno threw his hands up in exasperation and walked towards his desk.

"Wait, who else is coming?" Karl didn't understand. As if on cue, the Dream and George entered.

Quackity turned to Bad. "Why are they here?"

"George is our special guest of the day!" Bad announced happily and led George away, to briefly talk over their topics.

"I understand that, but why is Dream also here?" Quackity wouldn't let it slide.

"Because I can," Dream said nonchalantly and settled himself on the other side of the class.

"Special guest?" This was the first time Karl heard of such a thing.

Quackity explained, "Each week we usually get someone to join us because going against the same people gets kind of boring."

As the others started, Karl also went to the back of the class and took a seat behind one of the desks, but a little further away from Dream.

The debate topic of the day was whether video games cause violence or not. Quackity with Techno was against the argument. In their opposition were Bad and George, the latter not even wanting to take part of this and simply had been dragged here.

Bad was the first one to start. "Dear judges, opposition and auditors," he began and continued with a long monologue. There were three judges: Wilbur, Tubbo and the transfer student from France. All of them had a piece of paper in front of them, which they were constantly filling in.

Karl listened intently at first, but his attention went elsewhere the moment when Dream changed his seat and sat next to Karl.

"I haven't had the chance to introduce myself yet," Dream whispered.

"You're Dream, I already know."

"And you're Karl."

"Why are you here? I understand George, but are you here just to hang out or what?"

"I came to watch George struggle. What about yourself?"

"Just tagging along with Quackity." There was a short pause before Karl decided to ask, "Where's Sapnap?"

"Said he didn't have time to watch George humiliate himself, although I'm pretty sure that he would've suddenly found some time if he'd known that you'd be here," Dream smiled with a hint of mischief.

Karl chuckled. "And why's that?"

Dream leaned in and whispered, "He's been talking about you non-stop."

"Is that so?"

"Believe it or not, but I can't hear the end of it, especially after that party when he spent most of the night with you. But before you begin to flatter yourself, I'll just clarify that mostly it's just rant about you being friends with Quackity."

Turning back to check out the debate, Bad took a while to make a point, bringing out a list of negative sides of video games with examples and proof. When he finished, he confidently went back to his desk.

Quackity was the next one up. He walked up to the podium, wearing a confident grin. He looked through his papers before he set them down and started in a clear and loud voice, "Bitches and gentlemen!"

This wasn't at all what Karl had expected and he couldn't help but giggle and immediately cover his mouth with his hand. Everyone turned to look at him and he wanted at that moment to slip into his hoodie like a turtle.

"Okay, I admit, that was unexpected," Dream said, silently dying his wheezing. Karl could never figure out how he had the lung capacity to laugh like that. He was barely breathing. "Why am I laughing? It wasn't even that funny."

Karl fretted, "You good?"

Dream raised his hand to say something but then continued laughing, unable to get out whatever he'd wanted to say.

"Oi there, mates!" Wilbur shouted in the most cockney accent possible. "Pipe down you lot. Although I am sorry to interrupt your conversation, it seems that we are still in the middle of something very important, so if you blokes could either shut the hell up or take your conversation elsewhere, then that would be very much appreciated."

Karl and Dream hadn't realized how loud they'd been, so they stopped talking and focused on the debate. Quackity's speech was rather convincing, but vulgar. Next up was George, who had made no preparations whatsoever and didn't seem to understand himself what he was talking about. At some point, it felt as if he had switched sides until Bad had to remind him that they were in favor of video games causing violence.

When George finished and Techno was the last one up, Dream leaned towards Karl. "By the way, Sapnap, George and I were planning on hanging out tonight and maybe you'd be cool with joining us. I'm sure Sapnap and George wouldn't mind; Sapnap would probably be more than happy."

Karl would've liked to go. More than liked, actually. "Thanks for the offer, but I already have other plans. Sorry, maybe some other time."

"That's okay."

Techno finished up the debate by saying, "As I said: violence has always been the universal language and by that I stand." The judges announced the sides that'd convinced them more and in the end, Quackity and Techno came out victorious. Soon after everyone disbanded, Dream and George were fast to leave, just before Quackity walked up to Karl.

"So, what did you think?" Quackity asked.

"I thought things would get more heated, to be honest."

Quackity nodded and made his way out, Karl following after him. "Understandable. I suppose it can get dull for an onlooker, so I can't blame you. Sometimes I get bored myself."

While Quackity kept on rambling about the debate, Karl fell into his own thoughts. He couldn't stop himself from wondering what Sapnap had told about him to his friends.

"Are you okay?" Quackity asked out of nowhere.

Karl went still, not sure why he'd asked that. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're clutching really tightly on to the straps of your satchel, like you're stressed or something," Quackity pointed out and Karl had to admit that he had been right. It was terrifying how observant he could be.

"It's nothing you should worry about," Karl said and fastened his pace. Quackity opened his mouth to say something, but Karl was already heading towards his car and yelled goodbye.


End file.
